1. Technical Field
This invention pertains to the field of birdbaths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Birdbaths are not new. In fact, use of birdbaths as ornamental fixtures has become quite commonplace over the past few decades. The traditional birdbath comprises little more than a shallow bowl mounted on top of a pedestal. In this simple configuration, water is poured into the shallow bowl. Once the shallow bowl is filled with water, it is naturally attractive to non-domesticated birds. Those birds bathe in the water as well as consume water from the bowl.
As one might expect, water poured into the shallow bowl could easily become stagnant. This leads to the proliferation of harmful bacteria and the attraction of mosquitoes. These are just some of the undesirable aspects of the traditional birdbath.
The next step in birdbath evolution addressed the problem of water stagnating in the shallow bowl. That solution introduced a pump disposed in a reservoir of water to create a recirculating birdbath. These prior art recirculating birdbaths reduced the potential for water stagnation by constantly aerating the water supply.
Clearly, recirculating birdbaths helped to reduce water stagnation, but they were not entirely effective. One of the main reasons that recirculating birdbaths were not as effective as they could have been is that the water supply would accumulate organic waste left by birds using the birdbath. The organic waste would eventually decompose in the water supply; again rendering the water supply biologically hazardous.
Use of chlorine or other disinfectants was not a suitable means of sanitizing the water supply because sunlight often breaks down these compounds. And because the birds consume water from the birdbath, use of chemical disinfectants requires that the toxicity level of the compound be accurately controlled so that the birds visiting the birdbath would not be otherwise harmed.
The next inventive step in birdbath evolution comprised the introduction of a filter to help reduce the level of organic waste suspended in the water supply. The effectiveness of these filtered recirculating birdbaths was again less than expected. The reason for this was that the filters in these filtered recirculating birdbaths could not be easily cleaned because in many cases the filters are made integral to the pump assembly. Because the filters in these prior art birdbaths are so inaccessible, they are rarely cleaned. And even when these filters are cleaned, these filters are designed to capture particulate matter and do nothing to help sanitize or disinfect the water supply used in the birdbath.
One prior art design was conceived to prolong the useful operating life of the filter. In this prior art design, gravel was disposed in the base of the shallow bowl constituting the birdbath. The purpose of this gravel layer was to reduce the overall size of particulate matter deposited by birds using the birdbath. The gravel layer effectively helped to reduce the overall size of the particulate matter, but this really did not solve the problem at hand. The filter used to remove the particulate matter from the water supply would still become clogged over time. The only real benefit offered by the gravel layer was to prevent premature saturation of the filter due to excessively large particulate matter deposited in the water supply by defecating birds.
The present invention comprises a method for providing water to a birdbath comprising the steps of receiving water from a reservoir and directing the water under pressure to a birdbath bowl. According to this illustrative method, water may be received in the birdbath bowl where a bird may then use the water for bathing or internal consumption. The water may then be directed downward out of the bowl. Once the water leaves the bowl, one example method of the present invention provides that the water be directed to a filter that is disposed above the reservoir. Once the water is filtered, it may then be returned to the reservoir.
In order to provide more effective aeration of the water, one derivative method of the present invention provides that the water may be cascaded into a shower that may then be directed into the bowl. In yet another variation of the illustrative method, water in the bottom of the bowl may be agitated so that any particulate matter that may otherwise accumulate there may be forced out of the bowl. In yet another alternative method, water that is directed downward out of the bowl may be captured from a region proximate to the surface of the water that may be in the bowl.
The methods of the present invention may be embodied in a birdbath that also comprises the present invention. According to one example embodiment, a birdbath may comprise a bowl for holding water that a bird may enjoy. Water may be discharged out of the bowl in a manner such that it is directed downward away from the bowl. The birdbath may further comprise a pedestal for supporting the bowl. The pedestal itself may comprise a reservoir for holding a volume of water that may be used to replenish any water that is held in the bowl.
The pedestal, according to the illustrative embodiment taught here, further comprises a pump that may be used for drawing water from the reservoir and delivering it under pressure to the bowl. To recover water from the bowl, the pedestal comprises a filter that is disposed above the reservoir that may receive water emanating from the bowl and then direct the water to the reservoir.
According to one alternative embodiment of the present invention, the birdbath bowl may further comprise a sprinkler assembly. Typically, the sprinkler assembly receives water from the pump and creates a cascading shower that may be directed into the bowl. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the birdbath bowl may further comprise an agitator jet. The agitator jet is typically directed in a manner that causes the water in the base of the bowl to become turbulent causing any particulate matter that may accumulate there to become suspended in the water that may be held in the bowl. In yet another alternative embodiment of this invention, the birdbath bowl may comprise a combined sprinkler-agitator assembly that is capable of creating the cascading shower and agitating the water that may be present in the bowl. In any of these example embodiment, the agitation may be accomplished by energy received from pressurized water that may be received from the pump comprising the pedestal of the present invention.
In some case, the agitator jet may need to be disposed below the water line of water that may be held in the bowl. In these cases, water that may be stored in the bowl may be siphoned back into the reservoir through the agitating jet. To prevent this undesirable effect, the present invention may further comprise a back-flow preventer. According to one example embodiment, the back-flow preventer may be disposed between the pump and the bowl.
In order to maintain a particular water level for any water that may be present in the bowl, the bowl may further comprise a return riser. The return riser serves to establish a water level for the water that may be held in the bowl and also causes water proximate to the water""s surface to be expelled from the bottom of the bowl.
The filter, according to one embodiment of the present invention, may be particulate filter. In yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the filter comprises a sanitizing filter. One alternative embodiment of a pedestal comprises a filter slot that allows for easy access to the filter that is disposed above the reservoir.
Supporting the filter above the reservoir may be accomplished by using a filter support grate that may further comprise the pedestal. The support grate, which itself may be supported by a ledge integral to the pedestal, supports the filter above the reservoir. In some embodiments of the present invention, the pump may be supported above a sump region that may further comprise the reservoir. In such embodiments, the pump may be supported by a pump support grate. The pump support grate may itself be supported above the sump region by a ledge integral to the pedestal.